City florist delivers 200 clean air Valentine’s bouquets

A City florist will be using a new clean air cargo bike scheme to make 200 flower deliveries on valentine’s Day.

Longmans, who have operated in the City for over 120 years, will use the scheme to make 200 clean air deliveries out of 1,000 orders on the day.

The bike delivery scheme, launched by the City of London Corporation in January, helps the Square Mile’s businesses tackle toxic air pollution by shifting deliveries from diesel and petrol vans to cargo bicycles.

The service is available to all local businesses in the Smithfield and Farringdon areas with deliveries anywhere within the Congestion Charge zone.

The scheme is part of the City of London Corporation’s ambitious plans for a Low Emission Neighbourhood (LEN), jointly funded by the Mayor of London and the City Corporation. Plans for the LEN also include new electric vehicle charging infrastructure, green taxi ranks and planting and growing projects designed to improve air quality around Barbican and Golden Lane Estate areas.

The cargo bike scheme is run in partnership with Zedify, a new zero emissions delivery operator - formed from established cargo bike delivery companies Recharge Cargo and Outspoken Delivery who currently provide services across six UK cities.

Highly trained professional courier riders use an electric-assist cargo bike or an electric-assist trike, with load capacities of 100kg and 250kg respectively to make deliveries. The delivery hub is based in the car park, at West Smithfield.

Jeremy Simons, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Environment Committee, said:

“Flowers have always been a wonderful Valentine’s Day gesture and it’s great that we’re able to help local businesses to go green and improve air quality in the Square Mile.

“The increasing number of firms using the scheme is a healthy indicator of the demand for environmentally friendly alternatives for deliveries.”

Sam Keam, Director of Recharge Cargo, said:

“We’re pleased to be working with Longmans to support them on this most important of days. In the past, businesses needing large numbers of deliveries on an occasional basis would normally default to using van couriers which clog up the streets and increase emissions.

“Our service is being developed to provide multi-drop services for businesses in a flexible and customer-friendly way, and delivering flowers on Valentine’s Day has to be one of the best jobs around - smiles all round.”

Jitandra Patel, Manager of Longmans Florists, said:

“The scheme has allowed us to save money, improve our delivery times and most importantly, cut down our impact on air pollution in the City.

“We are already seeing the benefit of using the service and we highly encourage other businesses to look for ways that they can use the scheme.”

The cargo bike delivery scheme forms part of the City Corporation’s wider fightback against air pollution, which works with businesses through its CityAir Programme. It is also pioneering a London-wide crackdown on drivers who leave their engines idling. Its CityAir app provides over 27,000 Londoners with low pollution travel routes across the capital, with advice and alerts when air pollution is high.

In 2016, it agreed a deal with Addison Lee - London’s biggest private hire taxi firm - to automatically switch hybrid taxis to ‘electric mode’ in key areas of the Square Mile. The City Corporation has banned the purchase of diesel vehicles from its own fleet of 300 vehicles, where there is a clean market alternative.

ENDS

Notes to editors

About the City of London Corporation:

The City of London Corporation provides local government and policing services for the financial and commercial heart of Britain, the 'Square Mile'. In addition, the City Corporation has three roles:

We support London’s communities by working in partnership with neighbouring boroughs on economic regeneration, education and skills. In addition, the City of London Corporation’s charitable funder, City Bridge Trust, makes grants of around £20 million annually to tackle disadvantage across London.

We also help look after key London heritage and green spaces including Tower Bridge, the Museum of London, Barbican Arts Centre, City gardens, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, and important commons in London.

We also support and promote the ‘City’ as a world-leading financial and business hub, with outward and inward business delegations, high-profile civic events and research-driven policies, all reflecting a long-term approach.